Bryan

“There are three prominent features of the Chinese state. The first is its power: it has the resources and administrative skill to mobilize rapid collective action in service of the nation’s goals. The second is its structure of political centralization paired with economic decentralization, which makes room for creative local business activity under central guidance. The third feature is its adaptability. It can adapt to the changing circumstances rapidly and flexibly, dialing back policy measures if they have gone too far and shifting between priorities when the situation warrants it.”
― Keyu Jin, The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism

“Will artificial intelligence develop in ways that benefit and protect humanity, or will machines develop intentions of their own and become a threat to humans?”
― Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk

“China’s one-child policy, enacted in the early 1980s. The generation molded by this policy is transforming the nation’s spending and saving habits, innovation dynamics, competitiveness, and soft power.”
― Keyu Jin, The New China Playbook: Beyond Socialism and Capitalism

“Fermi’s Paradox, named after the Italian American physicist Enrico Fermi, who in a discussion of alien life in the universe said, “But where is everyone?” Mathematically it seemed logical there were other civilizations, but the lack of any evidence raised the uncomfortable possibility that the Earth’s human species might be the only example of consciousness. “We’ve got this delicate candle of consciousness flickering here, and it may be the only instance of consciousness, so it’s essential we preserve it,” Musk says. “If we are able to go to other planets, the probable lifespan of human consciousness is going to be far greater than if we are stuck on one planet that could get hit by an asteroid or destroy its civilization.”
― Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk